Stars Of The Week: Janhvi Kapoor & Ishaan Khatter

Being born into privilege has its upsides. Especially when most of the tough work is done for you.

On the flip side though, the burden of living up to your supremely talented mother who slogged her way to the top on the basis of sheer talent, has its share of pitfalls too. All the more so, when you’re likely to be compared to her literally every step of the way and expected to fit into her shoes given you're in the same profession as her.

A diverse list this week! IYO, WHO should be our Star Of The Week? 2 ageing superstars whose charisma refuses to dwindle; #AnilKapoor (#FanneyKhan), #TomCruise (#MIFallout). 2 debutants who struck gold, or on a more sombre note, a singer hospitalised after an apparent overdose?

Just ask one of our stars of this week, Janhvi Kapoor, the daughter of the formidable, late Sridevi, who carved a niche for herself in a predominantly male dominated industry. Kapoor, who made her debut two weeks ago, seems to have already won half the battle and sportingly, rises to the overwhelming challenge with a promising debut in Karan Johar’s Dhadak, the remake of a Marathi sleeper hit, Sairat.

The debutante, although a little raw, makes a smashing entry in an otherwise humdrum film as the firebrand Parthavi, who rebels against her stoic, politically driven father, all in the name of that foolish thing called love. Besides looking absolutely spellbinding, Kapoor is not only grace personified, but more than leaves an impression in a story that rests on her shoulders, going through a gamut of emotions in what is essentially (sadly) a slog of a film, and manages to keep us at least partially captivated in its breezy first half. She nails the dramatics too, but Shashank Khaitan's half baked script lets her down somewhere along the way.

Our other Star Of The Week, her costar in the film Ishaan Khatter, though is the film’s crowning glory, almost effortless in his part as Madhukar, a smitten Romeo who discovers the harshness of the real world upon eloping with his lady love. It’s not an entirely well-written part and some of the protagonist's struggles seem too easily resolved and/or fixed, but Khatter for what it's worth, also born into privilege mind, definitely lives up to his genes and has as much screen presence as Shahid Kapoor, and he acts just as well too, at least by relative comparison. His earnestness and boyish charm are immediately endearing, despite his obviously unconventional looks, and performance wise, you can't help but marvel at his range – and this is just his second film (the first being last year's drama, Beyond The Clouds).

All smiles: Janhvi and Ishaan in Dhadak

Where the two young 'uns go from here only time will tell of course, but they’ve definitely smashed it at the box office with their first outing – it must have been their freshness and innocence that did the trick, and in Janhvi’s case, the sheer curiosity of whether she lived up to the void and legacy left behind by her mother.

Let’s see what destiny has in store of them after the initial euphoria dies down, but for now, they’re definitely doing their thing, and doing it right!

Welcome to the industry Janhvi and Ishaan – definite, worthy winners of our crown this week!

What do Deepika, Priyanka, Kangana, Katrina, Kareena, Anushka, Sonakshi and Sonam have in common? They're all nearing 30 or above and are firmly at the top of their game. A welcome trend writes BollyBrit®'s Samarpita.